RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/M/8 
14 October 2005 
 (05-4704) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation  
  
 
SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE MEETING 
 
Held in the Centre William Rappard
 
on 19-20 September 2005  
 
Chairman:  Mr. Muhamad Noor Yacob (Malaysia) 
  
1. The Chairman
 said that the main purpose of the meeting was two-fold:  (i) to provide 
delegations with an additional opportunity to ma ke contributions on the agenda of the Negotiating 
Group (NG) – both in terms of offering new input a nd of reacting to the contributions previously 
received, and (ii) to continue the dialogue on technical assistance and capacity building (TA&CB) as 
a crucial element of the NG's work requiring partic ular attention.  Furthermore, Members would be 
invited to admit relevant intern ational organizations, including the IMF, OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and 
the World Bank, to attend the next meeting of the Group on an ad hoc basis.  He informed the Group that a significant part of the meeting would be carri ed out in informal mode to allow delegations to 
promote discussions and free exchange of ideas and thoughts.  However, the meeting would begin in 
formal mode to allow delegations to officia lly introduce new submissions and make any other 
comments they may wish for the record. 
2. The Agenda was adopted
. 
A. CONTRIBUTIONS ON THE AGREED AGENDA OF THE NEGOTIATING GROUP  
3. The representative of the Dominican Republic  introduced his delegation's proposal in 
TN/TF/W/60.  The integrity of customs services and th e conduct of their officials was very relevant to 
the objective of improving the application of GATT Articles V, VIII and X, since poor practice and misconduct in customs undermined domestic laws and international rules and regulations, and created 
additional obstacles to international trade by reducing transparency and increasing the cost of 
commercial transactions.  This had inspired the deve lopment of international ethical standards dealing 
with the conduct of customs services and their offi cials so as to avoid malpractice.  The proposal 
aimed to improve the conduct of public servants in customs services through the adoption at the 
national level of a series of measures.  Four of  the five elements of the proposal were the 
establishment of a code of conduct and the intr oduction of computerized systems for customs 
decisions, TA&CB to help Members improve their customs services, and the coordination of customs 
services.  These elements could be found also in ot her proposals that had been tabled by delegations 
in the NG.  The fifth element, which was crucial in  his view, was the establishment of a system of 
penalties to be directly incorporated in each country's customs legislation, and the treatment of offences by customs officials as criminal offences. 
4. The benefits of implementing these proposals woul d be to reduce the room for violation of 
laws and regulations, which currently imposed s ubstantial financial burdens on States and on the 
private sector, particularly small- and medium-sized  companies in developing countries.  The main 
costs would be related to working time, specialized human resources for training and perhaps other TN/TF/M/8 
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 resources to improve operational procedures in custom s services.  Different situations in different 
countries would necessitate that TA&CB be provided flexibly.  
5. The representative of the United States
, in a preliminary reaction, welcomed this proposal on 
a topic that he recognized was sensitive and sai d his delegation was struck by the positive and 
concrete approach that was bei ng proposed.  He looked forward to working with others on it.   
6. The representative of Guatemala  agreed that improving the conduct of customs should be 
among the efforts made in the negotiations to improve and clarify aspects of GATT Articles V, VIII and X.  Regarding the proposed establishment of a code of conduct spelling out the rights and 
obligations of public servants, Guatemala did not have  such a code for customs service officials but it 
did have one for public officials engaged in tax ad ministration, and within that there were several 
specific provisions on ethics which related to custom s.  The other provisions in the code were more 
general in nature.  His delegation felt that tec hnical support and assistance from developed countries 
or other developing countries who ha d rules in this area was important, and invited them to share their 
national experience in applying this type of legislation.  With regard to the proposed use of computerized systems, Guatemala had such a syst em.  The customs declaration was submitted to a 
selective and random process to determine whether or  not there would be a physical inspection of 
goods.  This expedited the whole process and reduced  the discretion that could be exercised by 
customs officials when deciding whether or not to inspect merchandise.  A risk management 
procedure was now being developed,  which would be computerized and subject to a risk management 
committee within the tax administration.  His count ry still needed technical support and assistance to 
improve the application of the system, above all in terms of risk modelling that could be used at all 
points of entry and ports, particularly for sanitary and phytosanitary control, so as to reduce this 
element of discretion of customs officials and ensure that there was ethical behaviour.  One important point was transparency so that there coul d be cross-checking among officials.   
7. With regard to the proposed establishment of a system of penalties, Guatemala had a legal 
framework to cover misconduct in customs, such as fraud, but no system of penalties for misconduct 
by individual customs officials.  He hoped to hear about the experience of other countries in the 
application of legislation in this area.  With r espect to proposed technical assistance to build up 
national capacity to prevent and control customs offences, the Guatemalan customs administration 
needed financial and technical assistance to intr oduce scanners, x-ray and other equipment for the 
examination of goods so as to avoid misconduct on the pa rt of officials.  This was very important for 
the physical verification of goods entering the coun try.  His country needed also technological support 
and backup for computerization of all customs procedures, and technical assistance from both 
developed and developing countries to train customs o fficials.  International organizations also had a 
fundamental role to play here, in providing support and financing to improve the customs system, to 
improve inspections, and to improve the status of customs officials so that they would have more 
incentive to behave properly.  On the final part of the proposal, to establis h coordination and control 
mechanisms between customs admini strations, Guatemala did coordinate a number of internal bodies 
that were charged with ensuring that tax obliga tions were complied with and preventing customs 
misconduct, such as the police, tax authorities a nd others.  Guatemala also had a presidential 
transparency commission which ensured ethical behaviour  by public officials.  The role of the private 
sector was also very important to help identify unethi cal behaviour at the time of import or export.  In 
short, his delegation felt that the proposal by th e Dominican Republic was very positive, but there 
were still many areas where TA&CB were needed in order to help countries meet their multilateral 
obligations. 
8. The representative of Brazil
 welcomed the proposal by the Dominican Republic which would 
contribute a lot to the Group's discussions.  Brazil ha d some time ago criminalized certain kinds of 
conduct by customs officials, and over the year s the results had been positive on the overall 
functioning of customs.  His Government believed th at this contributed greatly to expediting trade,  TN/TF/M/8 
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 including transit traffic, and to reducing transactions costs.  He noted that in Brazil the criminalization 
of misconduct by customs officials was part of the general criminal code rather than a special customs code, but this in no way detracted from his delega tion's appreciation for the proposal which it looked 
forward to discussing further.   
9. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 welcomed the Dominican Republic's initiative.  
While fully appreciating the importance of maintaini ng integrity of customs officials for the uniform 
and impartial administration of trade laws a nd regulations, Hong Kong, China had noted that 
consensus had yet to emerge on the subject falli ng under the ambit of the WTO.  International 
organizations such as the WCO had already devel oped various instruments in that area.  As 
circumstances varied among Members, it would be more  effective for individual Members to draw up 
their own policies by making reference to those in struments.  The WCO Compendium of Integrity 
Best Practices issued in May 2005 showed that a number of Members had already put in place measures proposed by the Dominican Republic.   
10. The representative of China
 thanked the Dominican Republic for its important proposal, even 
though it did not directly address customs clearance procedures.  The proposal contained many useful 
suggestions to eliminate the corruption of custom s officials and inappropriate conduct by them, as 
well as officials of other border agencies, which could impose additional invisible charges on international trade and impede its development.  China customs paid much attention in this area and 
took measures to prevent corruption.  With regard  to the suggestion to establish coordination and 
control mechanisms between customs administrati ons and the organizations involved in devising 
ethics policies in customs services, her delegati on would appreciate hearing about the national 
experience of  others.     
11. She recalled the importance her delegation attached  to ensuring in formal WTO meetings that 
the delegation of Chinese Taipei was referred to by its proper title.   
12. The representative of Japan
 welcomed the proposal by the Dominican Republic which 
touched upon a subject equally raised in a pape r sponsored by Japan, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, 
Pakistan and Peru (TN/TF/W/8).  To ensure harmoni zation of all laws and regulations in a uniformed 
and impartial manner as required in GATT X:3(a), it w as imperative to maintain high integrity of all 
officials engaged in trade procedures along with enha ncing their transparency.  To maintain integrity, 
a systemic approach was required, covering penalties and incentives for professionalizing. The measures proposed in the Dominican Republic pape r were broadly adequate in that regard.  
Guatemala's remarks were equally appreciated . The measures could be further improved by 
experience sharing among Members.  Japan also ag reed on the importance of introducing a code of 
conduct and attached importance to training offici als to improve their professionalism and maintain 
high integrity.  Various programmes had been ca rried out to that end as evidenced in Japan's 
submission on its TA activities.   The issue was not limited to customs admini strations but extended to 
all border agencies.     
13. The representative of New Zealand
 thanked the Dominican Republic for raising an issue that 
was both sensitive and critical as it impacted on economic competitiveness, effective revenue 
collection and investment opportunities for the Member s concerned.  New Zealand also welcomed the 
recognition of the Dominican Republic proposal that improvements in the area benefited all traders, 
particularly SMEs in developing countries.  To better understand the issues, clarification was sought 
on a few matters. New Zealand was particularly interested in hear ing more about how the Dominican 
Republic envisaged the measures to be applied in pr actice and what role the WTO might play in that 
regard.   Similarly, further details were so licited on whether the Dominican Republic envisaged 
Members adopting the international instruments set out in paragraph 6 of the paper as part of the 
outcome of the negotiations.  The best practi ce procedures contained in the Revised Kyoto 
Convention might be one means of addressing the c oncerns raised in the proposal.  New Zealand TN/TF/M/8 
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 wondered whether that was an option the Dominica n Republic had considered .  New Zealand agreed 
on the point made by Brazil in relation to penalties;   what mattered was not so much the particular 
legislation applied but that there was legislation in  place to ensure appropriate sanctions for improper 
conduct.   
14. The representative of Switzerland
 welcomed and supported the proposal and agreed that this 
very sensitive issue was important.  Switzerland had long been actively engaged in this area, including 
in the revision of the Arusha Declaration and th e second World Forum against Corruption.  It was 
indeed a subject that required further discussion.  Her delegation felt that national governments should 
for the most part be free to choose the way in which to introduce a code of conduct.   In Switzerland, 
for example, there was a code of conduct not just  for customs officials but for all government 
officials, including those in other administrations  related to trade facilitation such as sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures and veterinary issues.  The sa me was true with regard to penalties, for which 
the system covered the entire federal administration rather than just customs.  She welcomed the 
proposal by the Dominican Republic in respect of te chnical assistance, which was an area where her 
delegation believed it could make a contribution in order to try and prevent and deal with any 
misconduct of customs officials.  Th e Group needed to think further about  the role of the WTO in this 
area and see how other international or ganizations could be involved.   
15. The representative of Pakistan  welcomed this insightful contribution on a very sensitive issue.  
There was no denying the fact that lack of transpar ency in implementation of laws would negate the 
process of trade facilitation.  With regard to  the proposed measures, his delegation felt that 
malpractice in customs could not be viewed in isol ation.  In most countries, customs officials were 
part of the civil service and it might be difficult to have laws applicable only to one department of a 
civil service.  Making laws for all branches of the civil service was not under the ambit of the WTO.  
His delegation felt also that alt hough penalizing offences by customs officials was desirable at the 
national level, and already existed in Pakistan, it wo uld not be desirable to bring such practices under 
binding WTO disciplines.  Experience suggested also that inflicting excessive penalties could be 
counterproductive since it tended to dissuade offici als from taking decisions for fear of suffering a 
penalty, which in the case of trade facilitation coul d add to the length of time taken to clear goods.  
The international instruments listed in the proposal  were guiding principles based on best practices, 
and making them binding WTO commitments that c ould be challenged through the DSU did not seem 
to be a desirable option.   
16. The representative of India  thanked the Dominican Republic for its contribution.  The issue of 
integrity was important for India, but his delega tion had stated previously, with reference to a 
proposal by Japan, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei and Pa kistan, that it had concerns about making the 
WTO a forum for enforcing integrity standards.  Th e concern was that this issue should not become a 
mechanism to create trade barrier s or disputes, so his delegation did not favour discussions on 
standards of integrity or their enforcement thr ough the WTO.  He would be willing to discuss the 
establishment of codes of conduct for customs services with in-built systems of penalties for violation, 
but he emphasized that Members should have the flexibility to establish their own codes of conduct 
for this purpose.  This could be taken up as a c onsideration in the context of a transparency 
mechanism involving customs offici als.  India had a well-define d code of conduct for customs 
officials and a system of penalties for the violati on.  He emphasized that laws should also provide 
protection for customs officials for bona fide actions  and for protection against mal fide complaints, 
as was the case in India.  His delegation welcom ed the suggestion of introducing computerized 
systems to reduce discretion, which in India's expe rience could substantially reduce discretion at the 
operational level and allow officials at senior ma nagement levels to monitor the time taken in 
completing the assessment of goods declarations.  Li ke Pakistan, his delegation also had concerns 
about discussing proposals to make WCO instruments binding WTO commitments.  With regard to 
paragraph E of the proposal, his delegation did not fu lly understand the referenc e to coordination with 
organizations involved in devising ethics policies in customs services – in India's understanding, the  TN/TF/M/8 
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 customs department itself had to devise its own ethi cs policies – and he requested elaboration of the 
ideas behind this element of the proposal.   
17. The representative of Zambia  welcomed the proposal by the Dominican Republic.  He stated 
that in Zambia, the fight against corruption in all public service sectors, including customs, was at an 
advanced stage.  Corruption in customs services was not only a hindrance to international trade but 
also contributed to retarding national development.     
18. The representative of Bolivia  noted that any outcome of the negotiations would be effective 
only if appropriate practices were carried out by th e institutions involved in trade facilitation, and the 
Dominican Republic's proposal was relevant in this  regard.  It touched on some sensitive areas 
relating to public administration, which Bolivia  had been tackling since 1998 when the general 
customs law became applicable.  Major progress had b een made.  Bolivia had created codes, tribunals 
and areas where specialized judges could work, such as taxation, in order to prevent customs offences.  
Domestic legislation had been introduced, w ith penalties including imprisonment for smuggling 
contraband and other customs crimes.  A national council had been created to combat smuggling and 
this had allowed operational customs controls to be strengthened, particularly at borders where 
staffing had been increased.  Bolivia welcomed th e fact that the proposal would encourage Members 
to share national experiences of reform, which very  often, as was the case with Bolivia, was an 
ongoing process.  The support of other Members and the support and cooperation of international bodies could help in that regard.   
19. The representative of Chinese Taipei
 welcomed the proposal and noted that it covered several 
of the same points that had been included in hi s delegation's joint proposal with Japan, Mongolia, 
Pakistan and Peru on the subject of maintaining cu stoms integrity and ethical conduct.  He welcomed 
the proposal to establish a code of conduct in cu stoms services, the introduction of computerization 
and the establishment of a system of penalties to  prevent offences by customs officials.  His 
delegation felt that WTO rules could be used to  help reinforce custom s integrity in customs 
administrations and transparency in customs policy d ecisions, but he noted that the different situations 
of individual Members had to be taken into account wh en introducing a system of codes of conduct.   
20. The representative of th e European Communities  considered the Dominican Republic's paper 
to be a very useful document.  The idea of de veloping some sort of c odes of conduct was very 
interesting and should be pursued.  The paper was also useful in showing how the implementation of 
trade facilitation reforms through computerization and automation could facilitate the ethical conduct 
of staff and integrity of border operations.  Si nce references had been ma de to the WCO Arusha 
Declaration, the WCO Compendium on Integrity Best Practices and to the Revised Kyoto 
Convention, it might be interesting for Members to invite the WCO at some point to briefly inform 
Members about those international standards or inst ruments in order to get a clear idea of what 
exactly could be proposed and how those instruments could be used.  The EC agreed on the issue not 
being limited to customs but extending to other border agencies as well.    
21. The representative of Malaysia  welcomed the proposal by the Dominican Republic on the 
issue of reinforcing the ethical conduct of staff and integrity of customs administrations.  In Malaysia, 
the national anti-corruption agency governed the conduct of both the public and private sectors.  At 
the next level, in the context of the royal Malaysian customs, the integrity action plan had been published and distributed to all staff members.  Th ere was also the code of conduct for staff and the 
code of ethics for forwarding agents and the privat e sector.  Courses and seminars were conducted on 
a regular basis for all customs officials and their c lients as well.  Transparent procedures were in place 
to deal with breaches of the code of conduct for civil servants, including the customs service, which 
laid out the process or actions to be taken, incl uding penalties on respective officers.  Penalties could 
also be applied to superior staff for failure to act on breaches of the code of conduct.  The 
Government was confident that such comprehens ive measures would contribute to its efforts to TN/TF/M/8 
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 reinforce the ethical conduct of staff and the integrity of the customs administration.  TA&CB in this 
area merited further discussion in the Negotiating Group.   
22. The representative of Korea
 thanked the Dominican Republic for its proposal.  Reinforcing 
the ethical conduct of customs staff and the integrity  of customs administrations were very important 
issues.  His delegation shared the view that unfair and inappropriate conduct cr eated further barriers to 
international trade and raised transactions costs.  A code of conduct for customs officials needed to be 
discussed, not only in the WTO but also in other inte rnational fora in order to secure impartial and 
appropriate customs procedures.  His delegation shared  the view in paragraph 9 of the proposal on the 
value of introducing general WTO obligations to he lp ensure that procedures were introduced to 
enforce measures adopted at the domestic level in  Members to secure the impartiality of customs 
officials.   
23. Korea, had, however, different views in terms of domestic legal systems.  For example, in 
Korea there was a criminal law relevant to all mi sconducts of public officials and also another law 
relevant to the ethical code of conduct of public offi cials.  In addition, the customs administration had 
their own very strict codes of conduct.  Under these circumstances, one would have to be very careful 
with how these general obligations of codes of cond uct and also the domestic legal systems could be 
harmonized.  The very objective of the TF negotiations  for the freedom of transit and the facilitation 
of goods would especially have to be taken into account .  Regulations that were too strict for the code 
of conduct for public official might impair that obj ective.  In this respect, discussion should therefore 
be concentrated on the harmonization of these two el ements.  Korea was ready to discuss this matter 
further once more concrete proposals had been provided by the Dominican Republic. 
24. The representative of the Philippines  said that the paper by the Dominican Republic raised an 
important issue.  The Philippines had a general code of conduct for integrity of public officials as part 
of a code of ethics for public officials.  Like Mala ysia, the Philippine delegation was of the view that a 
code of conduct applicable to all civil service offi cials would suffice to increase integrity in customs 
without prejudice to specific internal codes of  conduct and a policy mechanism within customs 
agencies.  The Philippines shared the views of ot her delegations about the negotiations having to  
improve and clarify Articles V, VIII and X through measures that effectively increased and improved 
trade flows and arrived at an agreed set of specific technical and financial assistance to achieve that. 
The Philippines appreciated that th e Dominican Republic had specifically talked about computerized 
systems which addressed the issue of integrity by  eliminating discretion while at the same time 
providing for a specific mechanism by which devel oping countries could be assisted with actual 
technical and financial assistance.  It also proved the efficiency of flows of goods across borders.   
25. As regards the establishment of a code of conduct proposed in paragraph (a), clarification was 
sought as to how that would interface with various international declarations by the WCO and other 
international organizations since that would enta il a major drafting exercise.  The Philippines also 
wondered how one could integrate a nd take advantage of work already carried out for many years at 
the WCO and in other international organizations.   
26. The representative of Indonesia  welcomed the Dominican Republic's proposal and recognized 
the importance of the issues of ethical conduct and integrity.  Indonesia had set up in 2003 the Customs Code of Conduct Committee independent of the customs servi ce.  If there was a complaint 
from the business community about the integrity of In donesian customs, then the special investigation 
unit under the Ministry of Finance would be asked to investigate.  The Government provided all 
telephone numbers and e-mail addresses to facilitate public participation in monitoring the work of 
customs.  The programme of codes of conducts in  Indonesia included improving the social welfare of 
customs officials to help increase their integrity.  A major challenge that lay ahead was to make a 
balance between the customs tasks of facilitating tr ade and enforcing customs regulations.  Capacity 
building was needed in this area.    TN/TF/M/8 
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 27. The representative of Costa Rica  also welcomed the proposal and agreed with other 
delegations that this was a very sensitive issue but also an important one.  It reflected a reality that 
existed not only in customs administrations but in public administrations more generally.  The 
measures proposed in TN/TF/W/60, including trad e facilitation, would indi rectly reduce unnecessary 
discretion in customs.  Over the last fifteen year s, Costa Rica had managed to reduce problems related 
to malpractice through measures to promote trade facilitation.  His authorities would be pleased to 
work with other Members on this topic although they shared some of the con cerns that other Members 
had expressed, particularly regarding how the measur es were going to be implemented in practice.  
For instance, Costa Rica's criminal code targeted  customs offences specifically, so it would be 
problematic to adopt similar measures separately into  its customs legislation.  His delegation believed 
that measures proposed in the negotiations, such  as computerization and increased transparency, 
would have a beneficial impact on the integrity of customs officials. 
28. The representative of Australia  welcomed the proposal and strongly supported its underlying 
intention.  Integrity and good govern ance were also major concerns to  his authorities.  In Australia, 
public officials were bound under the public services  codes of conduct to observe high ethical 
standards.  Various penalties existed within the system, depending on the severity of the action, and 
he noted that criminal charges were not always wa rranted so that any proposals in this area would 
need to take account of differences in Members'  systems when it came to considering how to 
implement measures in this area.  Australia had been  very active in the Asia-Pacific region, including 
in APEC, in providing support to various customs administrations to maintain integrity.  His 
delegation supported calls from other Members to se e how WTO efforts in this area could build on 
existing efforts by the WCO and other internationa l fora to achieve these objectives, rather than 
necessarily creating something new that may not fit all.   
29. The representative of Kenya  welcomed the proposal by the Dominican Republic which raised 
a sensitive but important issue. Kenya approached the matter in a more comprehensive way and had a 
code of conduct for all public servants.  The propo sal by the Dominican Republic was restricted to 
customs.  Kenya was of the view that trade faci litation issues were not restricted to customs 
authorities only.  A general observation touched u pon in the proposal was that customs authorities 
with a low level of computerization usually had a high degree of discretion for customs officials.  
Kenya agreed with the Dominican Republic that the introduction of computerized systems would go a long way in addressing some of the issues raised. There was need in developing countries for more 
technical assistance in that area.  Efforts at intern ational and regional levels to address the issue had to 
be examined carefully to avoid duplication.   It w as also necessary to think carefully as to whether the 
WTO would be the relevant forum to address the issue.   
30. The representative of Cuba
 said that the exchange of info rmation on the proposal by the 
Dominican Republic had been useful.  It was importa nt to see how work was being done at a national 
level. Cuba shared the concerns raised by others about the realization of the proposal requiring further 
developments involving considerable TA&CB, par ticularly in developing computerized systems in 
developing countries.  As for the work by other international organizations such as the WCO on the 
matter, it was important not to duplicate work.  Cuba  agreed with India that a code of ethics might 
have binding aspects to it.   
31. The representative of Norway  welcomed the proposal on this important and very sensitive 
issue.  Like Switzerland, her Government was engage d in activities at the international level in this 
area.  Since there were no experts on the issue fro m her delegation present at the meeting, Norway 
might wish to revert to it at a later stage. 
32. The representative of Barbados  thanked the Dominican Republic for its interesting and 
important proposal.  Being a very small economy, Ba rbados shared many of the concerns expressed in 
the paper, particularly the concern that any agre ements or recommendations arising from these current TN/TF/M/8 
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 negotiations could be made irreleva nt by corruption at the level of cu stoms officials and officials in 
other border agencies.  However, it felt that just as  important was the impact of lack of knowledge of 
commitments by which customs officials were expect ed to abide.  Barbados had a national code of 
conduct for civil service officials.  Without prejudice to any final outcome of these negotiations, the suggestion to make the issue of integrity a mu ltilateral binding commitment through the WTO must 
be examined carefully.  The suggestion in paragraph 9(b) of the proposal to introduce computerized 
systems to reduce discretion was important and could have benefits for the entire customs system.  To that end, his delegation reiterated the importance it attached to the provision of technical assistance 
and technology transfer, as well as support for the training of officials.  Further discussions should take into consideration standards and procedures al ready in existence, as well as specific national 
legal systems and particular customs cultures in different Members.   
33. The representative of Bangladesh
 supported the statement by Pakistan that the customs 
administration was part of the overall public services administration.  Bangladesh had a code of conduct, applicable to all civil servants wherever they were working, and a national anti-corruption 
council was in place to oversee the conduct of th e entire civil service, including customs.  His 
Government would therefore have practical difficulties in isolating customs from the rest of the public 
service and having separate legislation for offences of customs officials.  However, a code of conduct 
for the customs service, the introduction of comput erized systems to reduce discretion, and capacity 
building were all good suggestions that could be considered.   
34. The representative of Sri Lanka
 welcomed the proposal by th e Dominican Republic.  In Sri 
Lanka, there was a code of conduct for public serva nts, and the Government was in the process of 
preparing separate codes of conduct for, inter alia , the customs department and the department of 
inland revenue, all of which were involved in th e collection of tax revenue.  With regard to the 
automation of cargo clearance procedures, his delega tion felt that transparency and consistency were 
more important than reducing discretion.  There we re provisions in place to penalize customs officers 
if they were found guilty of any offence or invo lvement in irregularities.  With regard to the 
preparation of codes of conduct for customs se rvices, his delegation joined India in seeking 
clarification of what was meant by coordination with other organizations.   
35. The representative of Turkey  thanked the Dominican Republic for its proposal on this very 
sensitive issue, and gave his preliminary reactions to it.  Turkey already applied the measures that 
were being proposed, and encouraged other countri es in the region to declare their commitment to 
struggle against corruption.  Turkey shared the conc erns expressed by other Members, such as India, 
Pakistan and Australia.  His delegation had some doubts about the need for, and the possibility of, 
drawing up legal commitments under the WTO in this  area, on top of the large number of existing 
international commitments listed in  paragraph 6.  Turkey believed that Members should be free to 
choose the measures they wanted to apply to t ackle corruption, which was not only an economic 
problem but also a social problem.   
36. The representative of the Dominican Republic  welcomed the support that had been given to 
his delegation's proposal, and provided some prel iminary responses to comments and questions.  His 
delegation would come back later with responses to th e many specific questions that had been raised.  
The issue covered by the proposal was not new.  N onetheless, it was rarely discussed in the WTO.  It 
tended rather to be regarded as too sensitive and to be left for other organizations to deal with.  He 
hoped that his delegation's proposal would ensure that  it would now be discussed further in the WTO.   
37. His delegation regarded the problem of lack of integrity among customs officials as a matter 
that needed to be incorporated directly in negotiatio ns aimed at facilitating trade.  It was evident that 
conditions differed from one country to another, as di d legal systems.  This first round of discussions 
would, of course, not produce the correct legal solution to the problem within the WTO structure, but it was important for Members to continue discussing it and to work together to try and find solutions.   TN/TF/M/8 
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 With regard to questions raised about how to ap ply the measures proposed in paragraph 9, he noted 
that it was proposed that Members adopt them at th e domestic level, subject  to the establishment of 
WTO general obligations that would not oblige Members to adopt the measures but that would 
encourage them to move in that direction if they had not already done so.  Most countries already had a code of conduct, either for customs or for the entire public service.  The Dominican Republic had a 
code of conduct that applied to the public services in  general, not specifically to customs, and it was 
involved in domestic reforms to try to change its cu stom laws and to develop a code of conduct that 
would apply specifically to customs officials.  Hi s Government wanted to see severe penalties applied 
to customs officials who were engaged in misconduct,  and it was making a major effort in this regard 
to overcome internal resistance.   
38. The representative of Cuba
 introduced Cuba's submission on improving GATT Article V 
(TN/TF/W/64), saying that its fundamental purpose was to promote a broad balance and useful context for Members engaged in the negotiations.  It was the right time to focus on an analysis of Article V with a view to strengthening its non-discrimination and MFN disciplines which were 
fundamental for the multilateral trading system.   
39. As indicated in document TN/TF/W/35 on freedom of transit, "despite existing GATT rules, 
GATT 1994 rules aimed at ensuring the smooth and non- discriminatory flow of trade across borders 
for transit, freedom of transit is often absent or compromised in practice".  Both the spirit and the 
letter of Article V were very clear in calling for compliance with the obligation to comply with the principles of non-discrimination and MFN treatment.  Trade practice showed a need to strengthen the 
disciplines of Article V:2, setting out the details  of the non-discrimination provision to avoid any 
discretion and arbitrary use of the exceptions provided for under GATT 1994.  The problem was that 
the obligation to observe non-discrimination was regularly breached by a Member for non-
commercial reasons. Those practices ignored the leg itimate interest and rights of other Members to 
freedom of transit and to develop their trade in a normal fashion as a full Member of the WTO.  They 
also ignored the commercial inter est of affected third bodies.   
40. Cuba agreed that submitting proposals to the NG should not in any way compromise 
legitimate objectives of public order and that Memb ers should preserve the right to appropriately and 
justifiably apply the exceptions established in Ar ticles XX and XXI of the GATT.  But no Member 
had the right to abuse those exceptions without any valid reason.  Cuba felt that, even though Article 
V:2 was fairly clear regarding the obligation for non -discrimination in freedom of transit, further 
strengthening of the provision was required by adding the following text: " The contracting parties 
shall not apply discriminatory measures to goods in  transit as well as vessels or other means of 
transport, of other contracting parties from non comm ercial reasons.  This does not just exclude the 
right to recourse to the exceptions already established in WTO Agreements ".   
41. The representative of the Philippines, sp eaking on behalf of the Core Group
, stated that the 
Core Group welcomed this proposal from Cuba, in pa rticular the fact that concrete drafting language 
was being proposed.  This approach would be particul arly welcome in the NG at some time, to help 
the process remain focused. 
42. The representative of Bolivia  thanked Cuba for its contribution, and noted that non-
discrimination was a core discipline not only for Article V but for all GATT provisions.   
43. The representative of the Dominican Republic  thanked Cuba for its contribution and said that 
his delegation would study it carefully and reply in  writing with comments on the points raised.  He 
felt that they needed to be analyzed with a great deal of attention.   
44. The representative of Chinese Taipei  introduced his delegation's proposal on establishing a 
long-term mechanism on trade facilitation matte rs (TN/TF/W/62).  All Members recognized the TN/TF/M/8 
Page 10  
 
 potential benefits of trade facilitation, but assistance could not be delivered a nd benefits could not be 
fully realized unless a lasting long-term solution was found to the two most difficult issues associated 
with the implementation of the measures.  One of those issues was the provision of TA&CB, and the 
other was the use of international standards.  He  reviewed the importance of these issues, and the 
contributions that had been made on them in the NG by other Members, basing his comments on 
paragraphs 2-8 of TN/TF/W/62.  He then descr ibed his delegation's proposal for a long-term 
mechanism, drawing from paragraphs 9-10 of the document.     
45. The representative of Chile
 thanked Chinese Taipei for subm itting its proposal and said this 
topic was important and one on which the NG needed  to develop its thinking a lot further.  She 
recalled that paragraph 15 of TN/ TF/W/41, which had been presented by Latin American countries, 
had also noted the importance of establishing a mechanism to organize and coordinate technical 
assistance.  Regarding the proposal by Chinese Taipei, her delegation felt that its concept of a long-
term mechanism covered seve ral important elements that needed to  be analysed separately.  One was 
the establishment of a committee on trade facilitation to  carry out standard functions, in particular 
with regard to the implementation of obligations un dertaken on trade facilitation.  Exactly what the 
committee's functions would need to be would depe nd on the nature of those obligations.  A second 
was a mechanism to review the effectiveness of TA&CB and the implementation of commitments in 
that area.  A third had to do with using internationa l standards.  It would be useful if Chinese Taipei 
could expand on how it saw its review mechanism dealing with each of these three elements.   
46. The representative of Brazil  echoed the comments made by Chile.  His delegation considered 
TA&CB to be very important, not only after the ne gotiations were completed but equally during the 
negotiations themselves.  It was perfectly reasona ble to expect that a committee on trade facilitation 
would need to be set up once the negotiations had been concluded successfully, which he noted 
depended not only on the NG but also on how othe rs were going to proceed.  Like Chile, his 
delegation would be interested in hearing Chinese Taipei develop its idea of a mechanism in more 
detail.     
47. The representative of Switzerland  welcomed the contribution from Chinese Taipei, in 
particular the proposals contained in paragraphs 10( c) and 10(g) of the document relating to a regular 
forum for consultation and a platform for coordi nation with other WTO committees, and especially 
paragraph 10(e) relating to the use of internationa l standards which Switzerland was in favour of and 
believed warranted more discussion.   
48. The representative of Argentina  thanked Chinese Taipei for the contribution and made some 
preliminary comments.  One issue of concern to hi s delegation was the proposed use of international 
standards, which was sensitive and something that needed to be looked at carefully.  The proposal 
mentioned the harmonization of rules relating to customs procedures.  It was true that WTO 
Agreements on TBT and SPS matters promoted converg ence in this way, but his delegation felt that 
this issue needed to be treated  cautiously.  As noted in paragraph 7 of the proposal, some WTO 
Members, particularly developing countries, did not take part in drafting international standards and 
they often had difficulties in complying with them.  His delegation favoured legislative action within 
the WTO rather than relocating a standard-setti ng outside it.  Furthermore, before promoting 
harmonization as a general rule in the area of trade facilitation, thought needed to be given to taking 
account of the specific legal and economic contexts of individual countries. 
49. The representative of the Philippines  said that while the contents of paragraph 10 of Chinese 
Taipei's proposal were welcome, item 10:E had to be  discussed further.  What was important in the 
paper was its realization that the trade facilitation needs of developing countries were of a long-term 
nature.  That was something that had to be borne  in mind.  Experience sharing had underlined the 
importance of sustaining technical and financial assi stance. It would not only be needed before and 
during the negotiations but also afterwards.  It was a long-term process.    TN/TF/M/8 
 Page 11 
 
 
 50. The representative of Chinese Taipei  thanked Members for their comments, and said his 
delegation would respond after having considered them further.  By way of one preliminary response, 
his delegation fully agreed on the need to prov ide TA&CB during the negotiations as well as after 
them.   
51. The representative of Pakistan  gave his delegation' s introduction to the proposal presented 
jointly by Pakistan and Switzerland (TN/TF/W/63).  The proposal aimed to help the NG structure its 
future work.  Discussions so far had demonstrated that trade facilitation was a win-win situation for 
all WTO Members.  While under the mandate devel oping countries would decide on their own timing 
and extent of commitments, their capacity to im plement would depend upon the effective provision of 
TA&CB.  Commitments would become binding only once the Membership agreed that a country's 
implementation capacity as a result of TA&CB had b een achieved.  Aligning TA&CB with the needs 
and priorities of individual Members was therefore the real challenge.   
52. The proposal responded to this challenge by suggesting the use of "gap" analysis – analysing 
the gap between proposed measures and on-the-groun d realities.  This analysis could only be 
undertaken once Members had a list of proposed measu res.  Then, each Member could assess its own 
needs for TA&CB, and prioritize the sequencing of  the measures.  A mechanism was needed to 
achieve all of this, and he noted that Switzerla nd would explain in detail the mechanism that was 
proposed in their joint contribution.  Finally, he urged developed-country Members to announce their 
willingness to provide technical assistance and su pport for capacity building, as Switzerland had 
already done. 
53. The representative of Switzerland  presented the mechanism on development-related issues in 
trade facilitation contained in the joint proposal, which she noted built on her delegation's comments 
at the NG's meeting in May and on numerous inputs from many other delegati ons with whom she had 
consulted since.  Switzerland thanked all those delega tions for their time and valuable thoughts.  The 
future text on trade facilitation, whatever juridi cal form it might take, would contain some kind of 
inventory of trade facilitation measures that clarif ied and enhanced GATT Articles V, VIII and X, in 
accordance with the mandate.  The mandate also contained an important number of development-
related issues, which needed to be reflected in a future text on trade facilitation.  The submission 
contained a proposed mechanism to complement th e inventory of trade facilitation measures.   
54. The NG had already devoted quite some time to the issue of assessing the needs and priorities 
of developing countries in trade facilitation.  He r delegation supported the trend of the discussions 
which highlighted its importance and proposed that it be in the form of self-assessment.  This self-
assessment should be complemented  with information on ongoing a nd planned capacity building and 
technical assistance projects.  The approach propos ed differed, however, from the one suggested by 
the Secretariat.  Her delegation's basic principl e in development cooperation was that projects be 
demand driven.  It was proposed, therefore, that the recipient countries, in collaboration with the 
donors if so wished, should present the kind of support they were receiving.   
55. Another important element was the sequencing of trade facilitation measures.  Indeed, 
sometimes only a combination of measures allowed r eal benefits to be reaped on the ground.  Also, 
some advanced measures might require the prior implementation of other basic measures.  Experienced international organizati ons could be of valuable support to Members by assisting them to 
organize these relationships and their sequencing.   
56. It was her delegation's assessment that the measures enumerated in the compilation of trade 
facilitation measures were, in some ca ses, of a nature such that they  would not require investments in 
expensive infrastructure but primarily require ad ministrative actions – which sometimes could be 
politically difficult to implement – and, in some  other cases, were increasingly demanding, both in 
terms of resources and implementation capacities.  Members should not preclude devoting different TN/TF/M/8 
Page 12  
 
 treatment to these two categories of measures in a final text on trade facilitation.  As a starting point, 
her delegation invited Members i ndividually to classify the measures contained in the compilation 
document according to the matrix provided by th e World Bank and the WCO at the July session.   
57. In May, her delegation had talked about a b asic package containing measures with which all 
Members should comply and more advanced measure  ruled by different conditions.  Although it had 
not abandoned this idea, it believed it was prem ature to introduce such a concept now.   
58. A certain number of recent submissions and r oom documents had talked about establishing a 
mechanism that would link the implementation of trade facilitation measures to the development-
related elements of the modalities, or to say it in slightly different wording, a mechanism to relate 
TA&CB and financing to reform.  The submissi on by the African Group in document TN/TF/W/56 
had spelled out very accurately the requirements of such a mechanism:  "Such mechanism should 
ensure that the needs and priorities with resp ect to trade facilitation by developing and least-
developed countries are addressed effectively;  that available resources will be efficiently used;  and 
that there will be long-term sustainability of technical assistance programmes".   
59. In its current joint proposal with Pakistan, he r delegation was taking the risk of proposing a 
specific and operational mechanism.  It was aware th at the more specific one was, the easier it was to 
criticize and dismantle the ideas, but it believed th at being specific and operational would help to 
deepen the discussions on this very important theme.   
60. The mechanism proposed was a set of compone nts, action plans containing obligations, 
implementation periods and re quired means, a pledging mechanism for TA&CB and funding, 
multiple channels to provide TA&CB and fundi ng, a WTO Trade Facilitation Committee (TFC) to 
endorse Members' obligations a nd commitments and a multilateral endorsement of implementation 
capacities.   
61. The centrepiece of this mechanism was the ela boration of action plans.  These action plans 
would serve as the basis for preparing implementati on.  Hence, they would also be the basis for 
requesting financial support, capacity building or tech nical assistance.  To draw up such action plans, 
some Members might require assistance.  In the action plans, Members were committing to 
implement trade facilitation measures immediately or after a transition period, conditional on 
receiving technical and financial support for some  of them, and taking due account of their 
implementation capacities and financial and human resources.   
62. Once the conditional action plans were complete d, her delegation saw three possibilities.  
That a Member submit its proposal to the TFC, so that Members could get notice of its conditional 
action plan and it could then engage  in negotiations with interested donors and executing agencies.  A 
second possibility was that the Member enter directly into discussion with potential donors and executing agencies to match the asses sed needs for TA&CB or financi ng.  Hence, the use of the 
services of certain experts could be asked.  A third possibility was that  the Member submit its 
conditional action plan to an indepe ndent international and recognized group of experts in order to get 
a second opinion and objective advice, and then either submit its conditional action plan to the TFC or 
enter into contact with potential donors.  In all cases, Members would have to present their final 
action plans to the TFC which would endorse a ll Member's obligations and commitments.   
63. Requesting Members could match their assessed  needs for TA&CB and funding in pledging 
rounds, where donors would make firm commitments to  provide part or all of the TA&CB requested 
in exchange for the obligation to implement certa in trade facilitation measures.  Pledging did not 
necessarily need to consist of well-organized processes at all times.  It could also take place in the 
form of customary bilateral exchanges.    TN/TF/M/8 
 Page 13 
 
 
 64. It was important to highlight that her dele gation understood donors to include developed 
countries, developing countries, multilateral ins titutions, national, regional and international trade 
federations as well as interested private business a ssociations.  Her delegation also believed that 
donors should be free to provide their assistance ei ther bilaterally or multilaterally, earmarked for 
certain recipients and certain measures, as we ll as purely funded or provided in kind.   
65. Once the pledging was complete, the reques ting Member would revise its action plan, 
containing the consolidation of all secured projects,  and resubmit it along with the pledged support to 
the TFC.  The TFC would have the possibility to ask for complementary information in order to 
endorse or refuse a Member's action plan.  Finally, th e TFC would give its final approval to the action 
plan.  At this juncture all parties involved – i. e., requesting Members and donors – would notify their 
intent to implement compliance with the rules a nd to provide TA&CB or funding according to the 
terms and conditions set out in the action plan.   
66. The last step of the mechanism would c onsist of the multilateral endorsement of 
implementation capacities where WTO Members would have to assess whether a country had acquired the necessary implementation capacities,  because it was only once the implementation 
capacity was there that a measure would become bi nding.  The proposal did not address this review 
mechanism – more thought needed to be devoted to this issue.   
67. She concluded by saying that although her dele gation had tried to pr opose some operational 
ideas on a mechanism to address the elements contai ned in Annex D, these needed to be further 
scrutinized.  Some issues had not been addressed properly.  Discussions on the mechanism should 
also consider clustering recipient countries with re gard to the implementation of certain measures as 
well as for related TA&CB and fundi ng in trade facilitation, for ex ample on a regional or sub-regional 
level.  This should be the case for transit countries wh ich needed to coordinate and adjust their action 
plans in accordance with the need s and priorities of landlocked developing and least-developed 
countries.   
68. Finally, recognizing the asymmetry that the im plementation burden of a trade facilitation 
agreement or text would fall primarily on poorer co untries, Switzerland was ready to consider making 
firm commitments for providing TA&CB to its partner countries, both for supporting the initial 
assessment stage and for supporting the implementation phase. 
69. The representative of Bolivia
 expressed appreciation for the joint proposal from Pakistan and 
Switzerland, and the fact that it had been built on the basis of initial contributions from various 
regional groups, such as the Latin America Group a nd its proposal in TN/TF/W/41.  Switzerland had 
addressed paragraph 2 of Annex D,  and the need for flexibility in the negotiations for each 
developing-country Member in order to facilitate  the application of future commitments.  The 
proposal gave very useful and precise guidance on how a possible mechanism might be devised and on complementary information such as how to draw  up the inventory of measures and identification 
of specific interests, not just in the context of th e NG but also on a bilateral basis.  A question was 
how the authors would include the bilateral mech anism operationally in the development of the 
proposals and whether the bilateral contacts would be only in respect of the suggestions under paragraph 21(iii), for example, or whether they would extend beyond TA&CB.  Her delegation agreed 
on the need for an assessment to be an ongoing pro cess.  Bolivia attached considerable importance to 
paragraphs 33 and 34 of the proposal, which highlig hted the role of Members receiving assistance in 
the discussions and the building of the mechanism in  particular to meet needs such as those of 
landlocked countries.   
70. The representative of Chile
 welcomed the submission from Switzerland and Pakistan.  This 
was a topic that needed further development, althoug h it was difficult to do that without clarity on the 
range of trade facilitation disciplines that would be involved.  Some disciplines could be in the form TN/TF/M/8 
Page 14  
 
 of general obligations that would not require action plans for implementation.  Her delegation 
believed that if the proposed mechanism of action plans was adopted, some room should be provided 
for establishing country funds.  Often a country might base its commitment to implement some measures, within a defined period of time, on S&D tr eatment considerations rather than donations for 
TA&CB.  Not all countries were in a position to seek  the support or donors, and this needed to be 
borne in mind in the context of grouping countries together to seek assistance.  With regard to 
paragraph 30, her delega tion's view was that it would be difficult to rely on a process of the 
committee approving action plans since there could be Members who would want a country to do 
more, when the country itself felt there was a need for it to receive more support.  The ideas in the 
proposal should be discussed further once th e scope of the disciplines was clearer.   
71. The representative of the European Communities
 thanked Switzerland and Pakistan for their 
submission.  There were many elements in the paper that the EC would agree with.  In particular, it liked the emphasis on the identification needs and prio rities, which was clearly a priority in the short 
term but would be needed in the l onger term as well.  It agreed also on the need to establish a specific 
mechanism to strengthen the link between negotia tions, implementation of commitments and the 
provision of technical assistance.  The proposed  mechanism was very specific and would require 
further reflection, particularly once the scope  of the new disciplines became clearer.   
72. The representative of the Philippines
 expressed appreciation to Switzerland and Pakistan for 
the proposal.  It acknowledged the long history of trade facilitation as a subject, as well as the positive 
contributions that had been made by other delega tions, particularly in TN/TF/W/41, TN/TF/W/29, and 
the African Group paper.  She particularly appreciat ed the paper's emphasis that trade facilitation as a 
trade-enhancing objective was an ongoing process and needed to be customized, with specialized 
approaches to various needs and requirements on a country-by-country basis or a region-by-region 
basis.  She also noted that the paper was sensitive to the question of how to ensure that countries 
which were not required to commit themselves to  new disciplines on trade facilitation could be 
assured of access to funding for trade facilitation measu res.   She noted positively paragraphs 31 and 
32 of the proposal, which linked strongly technical assistance, capacity building and financial 
assistance to the issue of binding obligations on trade facilitation measures, and that a developing 
country was not bound to comply with its acti on plan absent assistance from donor countries.   
73. The proposed trade facilitation committee was a positive response to the question of how to 
monitor and continue trade facilitation as an ongoing process within the WTO.  She enquired whether 
the trade facilitation committee would be centred in  Geneva, whether there was a possible role for 
regional trade facilitation committees, and what would be the role, if any, of regional trade facilitation 
action plans that were already in existen ce in certain regions of the world.   
74. The representative of Chinese Taipei  welcomed the joint proposal from Pakistan and 
Switzerland, and noted that it shared essentially th e same spirit and goal of his own delegation's 
proposal. 
75. The representative of Argentina  thanked Pakistan and Switz erland for their important, 
comprehensive and substantial contribution.  The fi ve elements listed in section 3 of the proposal 
could well provide the NG with an initial outline of a possible mechanism as an outcome of the 
negotiations and an agreement that would truly refl ect its progress.  His delegation agreed with and 
appreciated the imagination that went into the design of the mechanism, and agreed with the 
feasibility of having this type of mechanism.  He welcomed the fact that the mechanism was intended 
to be firmly based within the WTO.  Some doubts of  a practical nature could be raised, for example 
about individual action plans being discussed in a fully transparent manner in the proposed committee 
and the role that consensus would play.  Neverthe less, his delegation viewed the negotiation of the 
disciplines and rules and the definition of the mechanism as two parallel elements that needed to be discussed together.  Each would help define the other.   TN/TF/M/8 
 Page 15 
 
 
 76. The representative of Brazil  thanked Pakistan and Switzerland for their proposal. It was a 
sophisticated and imaginative mechanism concer ning TA&CB, which needed to be reviewed 
thoroughly.  By way of a preliminary comment, hi s delegation wondered about the need for the kind 
of comprehensive action plan that was presented in the submission in order for a Member to receive 
support and technical assistance, especially in light of the proposal that the action plan should be 
reviewed by the committee.  Perhap s Members should be able to r eceive technical assistance in this 
area without having to prepare an action plan.  Ma ny of the elements of the proposed action plan 
would have to be based on decisions at the na tional level by governments with regard to the 
implementation of obligations, and it was difficult fo r his delegation to envisage why this should be 
submitted to the committee in order to get technical assistance.   
77. The representative of Sri Lanka  joined other delegations in th anking Pakistan and Switzerland 
for their useful joint submission.  It very rightl y in its introductory part highlighted the enormous 
difficulties that developing countries had encountered in implementing various disciplines under the Uruguay Round Agreements.  In the context of any possible future multilateral discipline in the area 
of trade facilitation, his delegation wished to avoid such difficulties and discuss that issue at an early 
stage of the negotiations to find solutions.  The propo sal had come up with, in concrete terms, specific 
mechanisms, a step-by-step approach on how to im plement, and what capacity-building requirements 
needed to accompany certain co mmitments.  His delegation supported the basic aspects of the 
proposal, including the proposal that developing  countries should implement trade facilitation 
measures at their own pace taking into account thei r own development needs.   Appropriate balance 
was needed when setting the ambitious  target of this negotiation.   
78. The representative of Peru
 congratulated Switzerland and Pakistan on their proposal.  His 
delegation shared the observation made by Pakistan  when introducing the submission that trade 
facilitation was a win-win situation.  In the trade facilitation negotiations, unlike some other areas of 
the Doha negotiations, there was no doubt that achie ving a result would be for the benefit of all 
Members.  His delegation was unsure that the commi tments entered into for trade facilitation would 
be accompanied with appropriate levels of TA&CB, so  the proposal was valuable in trying to chart a 
course and provide a framework for discussions a nd development.  He noted and welcomed the 
similarities between elements of  this proposal and the proposal from Latin American countries 
contained in TN/TF/W/41.  His delegation felt that the proposed action plan was a very good basis for 
further work and discussion. It would be important  for WTO Members to be kept informed about 
these plans with a view to transparency.  He we lcomed the proposal from Chinese Taipei as well, 
particularly its emphasis on the need to develop a long-term mechanism.   
79. The representative of Malaysia  thanked Pakistan and Switzerland for their joint paper and 
gave some preliminary comments.  The paper pr ovided a good synthesis of the discussions that had 
taken place in the NG and tried to set out the steps to  be undertaken in identifying technical assistance 
and capacity-building needs, sequencing measures,  and the implementation phase.  His delegation 
looked forward to more details, particularly on th e best possible options for developing countries in 
obtaining such TA&CB.  In this connection, Malays ia wished to reiterate its position that it supported 
a well-coordinated approach in implementing TA&CB to undertake trade facilitation measures.  It 
also welcomed discussion on a possible mechanism to  carry forward the work on trade facilitation.  
Details of the creation and function of possible mech anisms required more thou ght and consultations.  
It was important for such discussions to give serious attention to the needs and capacities of 
developing and least-developed countries and to step -by-step implementation of measures.  Malaysia 
was currently in the process of identifying its own technical assistance and capacity-building needs, 
using the questionnaire contained in TN/TF/W/59.  Consultations were being carried out at the 
domestic level with stakeholders  and his delegation hoped to have some responses soon.   
80. The representative of Kenya  joined previous speakers in th anking Pakistan and Switzerland 
for their comprehensive submission on development-re lated issues in trade facilitation.  There were TN/TF/M/8 
Page 16  
 
 quite a number of elements which his delegatio n could share in the submission, such as the 
observation that special and differential (S&D) tr eatment should extend beyond the granting of the 
traditional transitional period for implementation of commitments.  There was also an attempt to 
elaborate the linkage between implementation of th e results of the negotiations on trade facilitation 
and the availability of capacity on the part of de veloping countries, as well as support for TA&CB to 
implement commitments, which his delegation also  in principle fully supported.  The paper 
highlighted the difficulties faced by Members in using the existing assessment tools in order to identify their needs and priorities, which was one issu e that had been highlighted also in the African 
Group submission.  His delegation was pleased to note that the Secretariat has attempted to address 
this issue in their self-assessment questionnaire and inventory document (TN/TF/W/59), which could 
be a good basis for Members, particularly developing  countries, to identify their needs and priorities.  
While there had been general support in principl e to put in place a coordination mechanism, his 
delegation was also pleased to note that the submission by Pakistan and Switzerland had attempted to move one step further and define what this kind  of mechanism should look like.  His delegation had 
always supported a simple and e fficient mechanism.  With regard  to the proposed trade facilitation 
committee to oversee the implementation of the resu lts of the negotiations, this was hard for his 
delegation to envisage at this point since it believed th at this would be dictated by the format of the 
final outcome of the negotiations in this area.   
81. The representative of Canada
 welcomed the new contribution from Pakistan and Switzerland 
on the very important issue of how to address de velopment-related issues in the negotiations, 
especially the provision of TA&CB in relation to  the commitments that would result from the 
negotiations.  There was definitely a need to think creatively about new ways to integrate these issues 
in the context of the negotiations.  By way of pr eliminary comments, his delegation believed that the 
most efficient way to ensure th at the S&D treatment and TA&CB aspects of the mandate were made 
operational was in the context of consideration of specific proposals for potential trade facilitation 
commitments.  The review of specific proposals made it easier for Members, especially developing 
and least-developed countries, to conduct a self-ass essment of their implementation capabilities.  As 
mentioned already by Argentina and Chile, it was ve ry difficult to conceptualize what could be the 
possible means of delivering S&D treatment and TA&CB in the abstract.  His delegation believed therefore that the NG should focus primarily on the consideration of specific proposals as captured by 
the compilation.   
82. His delegation shared several of the views expressed by Switzerland and Pakistan with 
respect to some of the essential steps identified in  their communication.  The need for Members to 
conduct a self assessment of their needs and prior ities on an ongoing basis as negotiations progressed 
could not be overstressed.  The idea found in paragr aph 15 of the paper that proposed measures listed 
in the Secretariat's compilation involve different leve ls of complexity in terms of implementation, and 
hence that these different potential commitments should  be treated differently, was interesting.  This 
would seem to be in line with what was set out in  the NG's modalities, where paragraph 6 specified 
that in the limited number of cases where implementation would require support for infrastructure development and such support to countries lacking th e necessary capacity would not be forthcoming, 
that implementation would not be required.  In this case, it was considered necessary to be more 
prescriptive with respect to those very limited co mmitments requiring infrastructure development than 
for the rest of the proposed measures.   
83. Regarding the suggestion of establishing a new mechanism to relate TA&CB and financing to 
commitments on trade facilitation, his delegation appr eciated Switzerland's and Pakistan's efforts to 
come up with a system that could work in practice, but noted that the suggested approach would appear to be relatively complex.  Also, the propo sed mechanism would seem to be aimed at serving a 
similar purpose as existing mechanisms, notably the integrated framework for technical assistance for 
LDCs for which an initiative to extend it to other developing countries through "aid for trade" was  TN/TF/M/8 
 Page 17 
 
 
 under consideration.  The proposal could be assessed in light of the "aid for trade" initiative being 
discussed currently in various fora.   
84. The representative of Rwanda  welcomed all of the new proposals that had been tabled at the 
present meeting.  The proposal by Pakistan and Switz erland was particularly welcome, since it helped 
move the discussions further towards trying to co me up with practical ways in which a possible 
mechanism for TA&CB could be implemented.  In  an earlier African Group proposal, the adoption of 
a mechanism had been suggested that would enable  the provision of technical assistance at the 
multilateral level and also a link to the level of impl ementation of rules that might be agreed upon in 
the NG.  The proposal from Switzerland and Pakistan built n this and came up with practical ways in 
which such a mechanism could be adopted.  He r delegation believed that these were workable 
suggestions and wished to seriously and deeply thin k about them with a view of coming up with an 
agreeable mechanism.  It liked the suggestion of coming up with an action plan by Members, which 
was a good basis and showed the clear need for a continuous assessment of needs and priorities as a 
whole as discussed in the NG.  Her delegation also  noted that it therefore became important for 
continuous assistance to Members to carry out ne eds assessment if such an action plan was to be 
developed by Members.  She requested more information from Pakist an and Switzerland on 
paragraph 30, where they envisaged a final approv al of the action plan in the trade facilitation 
committee.  Did they envisage the approved final acti on plan to be final as it would spell out the terms 
and conditions of implementation or did they see the n eed for a flexible action plan even if it may be 
finally approved by the trade facilitation committee?  In her delegation's view it was very difficult to 
come up with exact or very accurate needs for differe nt measures to be adopted, and because of that it 
believed that it was important to have a flexible a pproach that would be modified in light of the 
experience of other countries. 
85. The representative of New Zealand  said that his delegation was committed to giving effect to 
the undertaking of Annex D in respect to TA&CB.  The NG's modalities recognized the integral role 
of TA&CB in these negotiations and in implementation.  They also recognized that in certain limited 
cases where commitments led to the need for supp ort and infrastructure development, developed 
countries would need to make every effort to en sure that support and assistance was forthcoming to 
enable such Members to effectively implement the outcome of the negotiations.  The challenge was to 
give practical effect to these undertakings in a way that contributed to the NG's work, whether in 
respect of developing the substantive outcome or  in the implementation of the results of the 
negotiations.   
86. By way of a preliminary reaction to the proposal by Pakistan and Switzerland, his delegation 
welcomed the emphasis on needs and priorities asses sment and the recognition that it was recipients, 
not donors, that were best placed to clarify pr ecisely what their TA&CB needs were.  Needs and 
priorities assessment was one of the most urgent issues facing these negotiations.  New Zealand was currently exploring internally what assistance it may be able to provide so that developing countries 
could conduct a needs and priorities assessment pr omptly, so as to better inform the negotiating 
process.   
87. His delegation had some queries about other aspect s of the paper.  Like Brazil and Chile, his 
delegation was concerned about the workability of the elaborate mechanism that had been outlined.  It 
wanted to see processes that served to help achieve the NG's goals, as Kenya had said, in a simple and 
efficient way, not overly elaborate engineered solu tions that hindered them.  It was not clear how 
realistic it would be to have a trade facilitation committee responsible for monitoring and agreeing to 
individual action plans, especially as these focused on priorities and implementation decisions which 
were essentially to be taken at the national level by each Member.  His delegation was also concerned 
about the scope for duplication with existing mech anisms such as the inte grated framework, as 
mentioned by Canada.  It fully recognized that  the provision of TA&CB was a vital part of the TN/TF/M/8 
Page 18  
 
 negotiations and that the NG needed to deepen its  discussion and find a pragmatic and workable way 
to address this critical issue within its modalities.   
88. The representative of Djibouti
 said that everything that had been said by delegations was 
important, in particular what had been said by Switzerland and Pakistan concerning development and 
technical assistance in particular for the LDCs.  Technical assistance was vitally important in the 
WTO.  The WTO did what it could in this regard, and his delegation was grateful to the countries that 
financed technical assistance, but it should be fl eshed out by other donors because, as regards trade 
facilitation, this could not be serviced by a single or ganization.  Organizations, be they international 
or regional, should cooperate so as to come up w ith worthwhile results – for example, the World 
Bank, the regional development banks, the WCO, the European Commission, and the OECD should 
be put on an equal footing so th at each shouldered its share of the burden to ensure that the needs 
were met.  It was not enough just to second certain staff to LDCs' customs services;  LDCs must be 
able to ship goods from one country to another, an d to do this a certain amount of infrastructure was 
required which they did not have.  The WTO did not  have the technical know-how to ensure that 
countries had infrastructure which permitted them to tr ade.  Everyone had to shoulder their part of the 
burden in a field which was of importance for the LDCs, who were particularly handicapped in this 
regard.   
89. The representative of Japan  joined others to thank Pakistan and Switzerland for their efforts in 
preparing this comprehensive framework.  By way of a preliminary comment on the coordination mechanism, the sense of ownership by developing countries was the most important element in the 
process.  His delegation felt that in the case of tr ade facilitation it might be necessary for coordination 
to be conducted in the field, not centrally.  Th e coordination mechanism should be practical and 
efficient.  He noted that the issue of "aid for trad e" was expected to be discussed later in the month by 
the IMF and World Bank, and that it included a propo sal to expand the integrated framework which 
could effectively cover the trade facilitation needs of LDCs.   
90. The representative of Australia
 welcomed the Pakistan-Switzerland paper as a contribution to 
stimulating the debate on the impor tant questions on an appropriate mechanism for TA&CB efforts.  
It seemed that there was motivation to ensure that  the mechanism was truly workable, efficient and 
allowed for the implementation of the modalities.  Thought had also been given to differentiate 
disciplines in terms of how S&D treatment and TA& CB would be applied to them.  The proposal was 
constructive and Australia wished to he lp with developing it further.    
91. The representative of Thailand  introduced his delegation's experience paper in TN/TF/W/61.  
The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system cu rrently served many areas of customs activities in 
Thailand.  For example, export and import declarations, sea and air cargo manifests, and export/import processing.  More than 90 per cent of  declaration forms were processed through this 
system.  The Thai Customs Department was trying to develop a web-based EDI system to replace the existing EDI system via the value-added network (VAN).  Companies using the EDI via VAN needed 
to have appropriate computer a nd network hardware and software, which many small- and medium-
sized companies in Thailand could not afford.  Most SMEs used services operated by the private companies which were located at the Customs Departme nt in order to get access to the system.  When 
the web-based EDI system was fully developed, Thai  exporters and the importers could directly log 
on to the Internet and process the declaration and other import and export activities from their office.   
92. Thailand also had a project to establish a Single Window system.  The project was under the 
logistic master plan that the National Economic a nd Social Development Board had proposed as part 
of the national agenda to enhance the competitiven ess of the country.  It was now in the process of 
cabinet approval.  Once the master plan was offi cially approved, Thailand could start implementing 
its Single Window project, hopefully in fiscal year 2006.  Meanwhile, a pilot project called the One-Stop Export Service Centre for exporters had been put  in place.  This project aimed to provide export  TN/TF/M/8 
 Page 19 
 
 
 services to manufacturers, particularly those exportin g agricultural and textile products.  The Centre 
provided export certificate applications to exporte rs, which were required by different government 
agencies.  At the Centre, officers from related ag encies, such as the Fishery Department and the 
Agriculture Department, sat together  and issued cer tificates to the exporter.  The applicant needed to 
fill in the information and submit the document only one time, and the rest would be processed by the 
Centre.  He drew attention to other aspects of  the paper covering Appeal Procedures, the Risk 
Management Programme and the Gold Card Privileges.   
93. The representative of Guatemala  informed the NG that in line with what was stipulated in 
GATT Article VIII relating to the need to reduce to the minimum the effects and complexity of import 
and exports formalities, the Guatemalan Custom s Administration had been constantly assessing its 
procedures with a view to strengthening trade facilitation procedures and identifying needs and 
country priorities related to those.  His delegation fe lt that the issues raised in  the submissions by the 
United States and  Chinese Taipei relating to urgent deliveries were absolutely vital in helping small- 
and medium-sized enterprises become more compet itive by reducing the delivery time for goods.  The 
Customs services in Guatemala recognized the ne ed for rapid delivery of goods transported via 
courier companies, and had now set in motion procedures to reform the Customs services for quicker 
customs clearance.  They had also changed custom s procedures in order to have immediate clearance 
of these goods, and adopted a manua l which was now being used for air cargo and freight.  These 
reforms had already started to yield positive results .  There were now facilities in the air freight 
customs services in Guatemala for rapid clearance which, since June 2004,  had been working 24 
hours a day, seven days a week.  Customs clearance of goods based on early transmission and receipt 
of the manifest now took an average of three hours compared to five to six hours.   
94. Since April 2005, prior electronic submission of the manifest had been implemented.  This 
meant that courier companies were able to transm it cargo information that would be coming into the 
country prior to the arrival of the goods, at a minimum half an hour in advance, along with a simplified declaration with the cargo manifest.  In other words, when the goods were presented for 
clearance, the customs officer, on the basis of the ma nifest number which had already been authorized 
by the Customs Services, could automatically pr oduce the information on the simplified declaration 
and then move to the selective and random procedur e to determine which goods would be inspected.  
All consignments up to $1, 000 were cleared under a consolidated declaration without any intervention 
of the customs agent.  Express items with a value of  more than $1,000 had to be cleared separately, in 
the courier storage area, and had to go through th e normal procedures there.  Those consignments 
could be cleared within two hours or less, as long as the proper documents were submitted.   
95. Since July 2005, Guatemala had a checking syst em when the goods came in.  This reduced 
delays because of inspection requirements.  Half of the goods were given what was called "green" 
status and were cleared without a physical insp ection.  Consignments with "red" status were 
physically inspected before they were cleared.  Sele ction was carried out via a risk analysis system.  
"Green" or "red" status was determined when th e customs clearance documents came into customs 
with the customs declaration.   
96. His Government believed that this system fo r handling urgent consignments brought with it 
the following advantages:  The simplified declaratio n was generated via a system rather than just a 
custom agent;  there was a very important informa tion database which was extremely useful for  day-
to-day working in the Customs services;  there we re greater levels of control and access to goods and 
dispatch, less paper work, and less discretion;  a nd there was also risk analysis, so that customs 
clearance procedures were speeded up and urge nt consignments now had a separate mechanism 
applied to those items which were covered by  the normal customs procedures.  The customs 
administration in Guatemala had had a lot of he lp from the express service operators working in 
Guatemala to implement these new procedures, and it frequently had discussions with the private 
sector to see how to improve the system.  Guatemala was now looking at its resource and technical TN/TF/M/8 
Page 20  
 
 assistance needs in order to implement the mechanism relating to rapid clearance.  It would certainly 
continue to examine customs procedures.     
97. The representative of India
 thanked Thailand and Guatemala for sharing their experiences.  
They reflected how developing countries were al so making enormous efforts in modernizing and 
simplifying import and export procedures.  He ask ed whether Thailand's EDI system accepted not 
only invoices but also other supporting documents such as certificates of origin and bills of lading, 
and whether there was any time frame for keepi ng supporting documents in the EDI system.   
98. The representative of Djibouti  thanked Guatemala and Thailand for their excellent documents 
which showed what developing countries could ach ieve.  There were other developing countries who 
had not yet been able to acquire such experience a nd practice in these areas, but they were doing the 
best they could to understand how other countri es had made progress.  Was it through simulation 
exercises, or had they learned from other countries?     
99. The representative of the Philippines, sp eaking on behalf of the Core Group , welcomed the 
experience sharing by Thailand and Guatemala whic h was constructive in enabling other developing 
countries to see how other countries had assembled trade facilitation measures within their own 
national systems.  A further sharing of experiences would be welcome as to the quantification of costs 
and resources that had allowed the implementation of particular trade facilitation measures.  That 
would be useful for the discussions on technical and financial assistance.  It would also be interesting 
to know the time frames involved.  Furthermore,  it would be useful to know how those programmes 
were implemented and the costs and resources leading to the implementation as well as the involvement, if any, of technical and financial assi stance from donor countries or bilateral partners.   
100. The representative of Japan
 thanked Thailand and Guatemala for their excellent briefing on 
their experiences.  The projects introduced by the Thai Government addressed most of the proposals 
made by Members in the negotiations, and the experience in Thailand sounded quite positive as 
encouragement to other developing Members to under take the same kind of reforms.  His delegation 
was further encouraged by the explanation that the case was the same in Guat emala.  Japan was ready 
to cooperate with the Thai authorities to furthe r enhancing trade facilitation processes through its 
specialist technical assistance service located in Bangkok.   
101. The representative of Guatemala  said that his delegation's document would be circulated in 
the Negotiating Group.1 
B. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
102. This part of the meeting w as conducted in informal mode. 
C. AD HOC ATTENDANCE OF RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS , INCLUDING THE 
IMF,  OECD,  UNCTAD,  WCO  AND THE WORLD BANK, AT THE NEXT MEETING OF THE 
NEGOTIATING GROUP  
103. The Chairman  suggested inviting relevant internati onal organizations, including the IMF, 
OECD, UNCTAD, WCO and the World Bank to attend the next meeting of the NG on an ad hoc 
basis, as provided for in the Work Plan. 
104. It was so agreed . 
                                                      
1 TN/TF/W/65.  TN/TF/M/8 
 Page 21 
 
 
 D. OTHER BUSINESS  
105. The representative of Turkey  informed that it had prepared written responses to India's 
question raised during the last meeting regardi ng the establishment of national enquiry points and 
asked the Secretariat to circulate this information to Members.2 
106. The Chairman  then referred to other responses to ques tions that had been submitted by China 
in JOB(05)/176;  Japan, Mongolia, Peru and Chin ese Taipei in JOB(05)/191;  Chinese Taipei in 
JOB(05)/193;  Hong Kong, China in JOB(05)/197;  Canada in JOB(05)/198;  and the European 
Communities in JOB(05)/199, and said that he hoped delegations would study these responses. 
107. The representative of the Philippines  said he wished to express his delegation's appreciation to 
all Members that had responded in writing to queries or requests for clarification and echoed India's 
suggestion that to assist delegations on this matte r a compilation of the queries and responses, whether 
by proposal or by Article, could be made.  Th e Philippines said it would also be ensuring that 
members of the Core Group, to the extent possible, would respond to the questionnaire in TN/TF/W/59. 
108. The representative of India
 reserved its right to respond at the next meeting of the Negotiating 
Group to some of the papers that had been tabled during the last meeting. 
109. The Negotiating Group took note of the statements. 
110. The representative of UNCTAD  then reminded delegations of  an expert meeting on Trade 
Facilitation that would take place at UNCTAD on 21-23 September.  The meeting would cover the 
following issues:  trade facilitation and developmen t, trade facilitation in the context of regional 
integration, private-sector expectation from the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation, and 
implementation on trade facilitation measures. 
111. The Chairman  then proposed that the next meeting of the Group take place on 5-6 October. 
112. It was so agreed . 
113. Before closing the meeting, the Chairman  said that he hoped that more progress on technical 
assistance and capacity building could be made at the next meeting. 
114. The meeting was closed . 
__________ 
                                                      
2 JOB(05)/212.